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Samsung's Gear S2 3G will cost a $50-60 premium over its Wi-Fi counterpart
The second half of 2015 is shaping up to be quite prolific when it comes to wearing something that isn’t monolithic. LG, Motorola, and Samsung all have fantastic new smartwatches that are attracting more attention compared with last year’s offerings. Samsung in particular has earned a lot of praise for its Gear S2, which comes in two different designs and features a rotating bezel used to interact with the device. Today, we now know that the 3G-enabled cellular S2 will cost just $50-60 more than its Wi-Fi only counterpart ($299.99) depending on carrier.
Verizon has provided the following pricing information:
The Samsung Gear S2 is now available to pre-order for $349.99 and will be available for purchase online and in stores beginning Nov. 6. Customers can also pre-order for $299.99 with a new two-year activation. Customers can add the Gear S2 to their Verizon account for $5 per month. The Gear S2 from Verizon will be available in Dark Grey and Silver color models.
T-Mobile will also be carrying the wearable, which will appear in stores and online November 15th:
The Samsung Gear S2 will be available at T-Mobile in 2 colors – Dark Gray and Silver for $0 down; $15/23 months + $14.99 24th month; FRP: $359.99.
The Un-Carrier has also indicated that, “for just $5/month, T-Mobile customers can call, tweet and email on-the-go with unlimited talk, text and data –all directly from your wrist1 – while on our network (up to 500MB of high-speed data), in addition to (1) 4G data and unlimited talk and text in Canada and Mexico (2) Unlimited texting and data in more than 140 countries and destinations worldwide, and (3) Unlimited music-streaming with more than 31 services including Spotify, Pandora and more.”
Three of the four major U.S. carriers had been expected to carry the 3G Gear S2, thus it is only a matter of time before AT&T issues its official pricing plan; The Verge has indicated Ma Bell has no plans to do so today unfortunately. Sprint is currently slated not to carry the device, however this could change in the future.
The Gear S2 runs Tizen 2.3 and is compatible with most Android devices running KitKat (4.4) or later, and with at least 1.5GB of RAM. It contains a 1.2-inch circular sAMOLED display at 302ppi, 4GB of on-board storage, and a 300mAh battery. With the new circular design and clear premium craftsmanship the wearable looks dramatically different than the original plastic Gear S that launched last year.
It will remain to be see as to if Samsung later releases an LTE model, especially in light of LG having announced just that. The Gear S2 Wi-Fi is already in stores, along with the Gear S2 Classic, which features a different design and will be sold in Wi-Fi configuration only.